Jules laughed, watching him press his fingers together and tried to save her from the compounding embarrassment that seemed to pile higher every time she opened her mouth. The sound was genuine, but modulated in a way as to not be too loud. Jules was usually better at reading dogs than people, hence her chosen profession, but Owen almost seemed like a wounded puppy. Quiet and careful, like he would be easily startled and she found herself reacting accordingly. “I am sure we will both do fine,” she concluded with a smile, giving him more credit than he’d given himself.
She continued to coo compliments at the dog as she simultaneously shampooed and scratched behind his ears. Hands continued moving over soapy fur that seemed to be turning a shade lighter as dirt and red dust were washed away from it; she glanced up at Owen and caught the briefest hint of a smile, before her eyes were back on her work. Odin’s continually wagging tail tossed water droplets to and fro. “I’ve been training Blue for a long time,” she explained, easily accepting the new topic of conversation as she began to rinse Odin. “She was the only survivor from a litter that had been abandoned. Someone just gathered them up in a bag and left them in the woods.” Jules turned off the water, stepping back to grab a few towels and avoid the water Odin shook off of himself. The soaked material of her shirt clung to her abdomen. Kneeling, she started to dry the shepherd off. “A group of hunters found her, brought her to me, because I was closer than the shelter. She was so small, almost fit right in the palm of my hand.”
She continued to work easily as she talked, having gone through this routine a dozen times a day for a few years. Acquiring a set of nail clippers she sank to the ground again and lifted one of the shepherd’s paws. “I have reared her until she was strong enough on her own.” Jules inspected the pads of Odin’s paws for lesions or cracks, and his nail before clipping them in quick succession and moving to another paw. “That was about,” she paused, face scrunching up in thought. “Four years ago, now.” She shifted to access his back paws.
“Blue is completely deaf, so I devised the hand signals. She’s smart so she picked up really easy.” Jules seemed to realize she was carrying on and stopped talking, letting the last of her storytelling fade into the silence, before she perked up with another question for him. He did not seem keen on answering. She nodded her head thoughtfully, when he answered, but didn’t comment or ask anything to follow-up. She tilted Odin’s head slightly to check his ears.
“I think he will be fine without a trim, but he has an ear infection,” she told him, green eyes floating to where he leaned against the wall. “It’s fungal, and pretty common if you spend a lot of time outside.” She wiped her hands on her messy shorts and started sorting through various bottles on the shelf. “It’s an easy fix, so now worries.” With a pleased noise she found what she was looking for and plucked it from the shelf. She shook the bottle, before twisting open the cap. Holding Odin’s head gently with one hand, she prevented him from shaking it like he would want to when she dropped some of the liquid in both of his ears. They twitched and he fought her hand, but she quickly massaged the treatment in, before releasing him and stepping back. He immediately shook his head.
Closing the bottle she held it out to Owen. “A few drops of this every day will have it cleared up in no time. It’s just peroxide and an anti-fungal agent. Wouldn’t hurt to make it routine, even when the infection appears to be gone, if you’re going to be here a while.”
The sun was setting as Jules replaced Odin’s collar before pawing at her clothing with one of the towels. She was used to making a mess of herself, when it came to larger dogs, because yes, she was short. Not that she would admit it aloud. She was more likely to let a misplaced sort of pride having her standing on chairs and trying to wrangle dogs as big as she was.
“Let’s go get you checked out.”
She continued to coo compliments at the dog as she simultaneously shampooed and scratched behind his ears. Hands continued moving over soapy fur that seemed to be turning a shade lighter as dirt and red dust were washed away from it; she glanced up at Owen and caught the briefest hint of a smile, before her eyes were back on her work. Odin’s continually wagging tail tossed water droplets to and fro. “I’ve been training Blue for a long time,” she explained, easily accepting the new topic of conversation as she began to rinse Odin. “She was the only survivor from a litter that had been abandoned. Someone just gathered them up in a bag and left them in the woods.” Jules turned off the water, stepping back to grab a few towels and avoid the water Odin shook off of himself. The soaked material of her shirt clung to her abdomen. Kneeling, she started to dry the shepherd off. “A group of hunters found her, brought her to me, because I was closer than the shelter. She was so small, almost fit right in the palm of my hand.”
She continued to work easily as she talked, having gone through this routine a dozen times a day for a few years. Acquiring a set of nail clippers she sank to the ground again and lifted one of the shepherd’s paws. “I have reared her until she was strong enough on her own.” Jules inspected the pads of Odin’s paws for lesions or cracks, and his nail before clipping them in quick succession and moving to another paw. “That was about,” she paused, face scrunching up in thought. “Four years ago, now.” She shifted to access his back paws.
“Blue is completely deaf, so I devised the hand signals. She’s smart so she picked up really easy.” Jules seemed to realize she was carrying on and stopped talking, letting the last of her storytelling fade into the silence, before she perked up with another question for him. He did not seem keen on answering. She nodded her head thoughtfully, when he answered, but didn’t comment or ask anything to follow-up. She tilted Odin’s head slightly to check his ears.
“I think he will be fine without a trim, but he has an ear infection,” she told him, green eyes floating to where he leaned against the wall. “It’s fungal, and pretty common if you spend a lot of time outside.” She wiped her hands on her messy shorts and started sorting through various bottles on the shelf. “It’s an easy fix, so now worries.” With a pleased noise she found what she was looking for and plucked it from the shelf. She shook the bottle, before twisting open the cap. Holding Odin’s head gently with one hand, she prevented him from shaking it like he would want to when she dropped some of the liquid in both of his ears. They twitched and he fought her hand, but she quickly massaged the treatment in, before releasing him and stepping back. He immediately shook his head.
Closing the bottle she held it out to Owen. “A few drops of this every day will have it cleared up in no time. It’s just peroxide and an anti-fungal agent. Wouldn’t hurt to make it routine, even when the infection appears to be gone, if you’re going to be here a while.”
The sun was setting as Jules replaced Odin’s collar before pawing at her clothing with one of the towels. She was used to making a mess of herself, when it came to larger dogs, because yes, she was short. Not that she would admit it aloud. She was more likely to let a misplaced sort of pride having her standing on chairs and trying to wrangle dogs as big as she was.
“Let’s go get you checked out.”
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Lucky Dog [Closed] - by megs - 11-07-2016, 12:03 PM
RE: Lucky Dog [Closed] - by megs - 11-07-2016, 02:31 PM
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RE: Lucky Dog [Closed] - by megs - 11-07-2016, 05:47 PM
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RE: Lucky Dog [Closed] - by megs - 12-08-2016, 03:08 PM
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RE: Lucky Dog [Closed] - by saronym - 06-29-2018, 12:52 AM
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RE: Lucky Dog [Closed] - by megs - 07-02-2019, 05:24 PM
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